*one year later*
"AJ! Have you seen my shirt for tonight? I can't find it!" Kayla frantically searched the small whirlwind of clothes that was the dancers part of the dressing room. She was looking for the dark blue halter she needed for the opening song and it was ten minutes before she needed to be on stage. "AJ, come on, have you..." "Kay, I didnt touch it i swear!" Kayla felt her breath catch in her throat as her husband stode into the room, wearing only a pair of khakis. She may have been married to him for a year but the sight of him still managed to take her breath away.
"After all this time, i still make you get all hot, dont i?" Rolling her eyes at AJ's sudden amount arrogance, Kayla laughed as she made her way into his arms. "Hot? No, hun, more like...tepid. Lukewarm?" She felt herself being spun around to face him and she laughed again at the mock hurt written on his face. "Oh, I'm wounded. What am i gonna do. I know, your punishment will be to kiss me. I'll show you what hot is." Kayla half pushed him away and began resuming the search for her shirt for the first number. "Love you too babe. I see how i rate. Your job always comes first. I wont take it personal." As AJ pretended to cry, Kayla had to laugh. "And if it wasnt for my job, would i have met you? No. So you better be loving this job of mine." Giving him her best smart ass smile, she continued. "And just remember, i could have toured with Cher. But i decided to stay with you... you Backstreet Boys."
It was true, in the past year, Kayla had worked her ass off to be able to dance again. With the help of Fatima, and a few of the best doctors in the area, she had gotten back on her dancing feet again. It had been a really stressful and trying time for Kayla and she felt like giving up more times than she wanted to remember. Without AJ's constant support for her and the love of her friends, she wasnt sure she would make it. Amazingly though, here she was. Dancing with the Boys on their new tour, supporting the new album. It had been a tough decision, since somehow she had gained the attention of a few big name artists.
Since returning to the dancing world, Kayla had gotten phone calls from the managers of people like Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Jordan Knight and even Nsync, which everybody thought was hilarious. When she first got the call from one of Nsync's managers, she had decided to have a little fun with AJ. She told him she was considering taking the job. Laughing, she remembered the look on AJ's face as he tried to cover his shock. "Kay, hun, you know i'll support whatever you do but, well, do you really think, what i mean is..." Still laughing at the look on his face and his poor attempt to cover up his shock, Kayla had wrapped his arms around him, telling him, "I'm kidding. I wouldn't even consider it. There is only one person i want to tour with right now."
That had been before she got the call that would give her one of the hardest decisions of her life. Kayla thought back on the day, remembering every detail. She was in rehearsel for the new tour and her cell phone would not stop ringing. When she picked it up, the connection was terrible and she could not hear anything. She tried the best she could to zero in on what was being said and finally the connection cleared. When it did, Kayla nearly dropped the phone. Finishing the conversation as composed as she could, she hung up the phone and turned to see everybody staring at her, waiting. AJ broke away from everybody and held his arms out to her. "Baby? Who was that?" "It was...Oh My God...AJ, that was Cher!! Not her manager, or anybody else. HER!! CHER!!! She wants me to dance for her. How? AJ, Oh wow. What am i going to do?" She let him pull her into his arms and she rested her head on his chest.
She searched the eyes of her friends and finally, she lifted her head up to look for answers in AJ's eyes. "I want to be with you. I need to tour with you guys. But that was Cher! Not her manager, but her. herself." There was silence for a few more seconds then everybody began talking at once. Throughout the next week, Kayla thought about nothing but her decision and finally she made up her mind. She declined Cher's offer, as hard as it was for her to do. She didn't feel ready for it yet and deep down, it frightened her. Although she had declined, she was told that she should get back in touch with them as soon as the Backstreet Boys tour was over. So here she was, on tour with the Boys and still frantically searching for her shirt.
"AH! Dammit, i still need my shirt!" Laughing she ran once more into the other room of the dressing room, which was supposed to be AJ's area. There, draped over an arm of a chair, was her blue halter top. "Alexander James McLean! Didnt see my shirt huh? Then whats this?" A sly smile played on her husbands lips as he looked quickly at her the toward the door. "Wow, look at the time. Showtime babe! Love ya!" He blew her a kiss as he made his lightening fast exit. Shaking her head, she threw the shirt on and followed him out the door and into the hall, taking her place on stage.
An hour later, Kayla sat in the small room backstage during one of the dancers breaks. She watched the Boys on the monitor. The first face she saw was Brians. They camera had focused in on him and she saw that he was sneaking up behind Nick with a big inflatable mallet. Laughing, she thought about how Brian and his girl friend Lisa were the next two to be married. They had already set the date as soon as the tour ends. The different thing about that wedding was that it was going to be a double wedding. Kevin and Paula were also going to be married on that day also.
The boys had made these decisions after they saw that the fans still embraced them even after AJ and Nick had married their girlfriends. Kayla laughed when she thought about Nick and Chel's wedding. Everything thing that could have gone wrong, went wrong. They had decided to hold the wedding on the beach, right near Nick's parents house. Everything had been set up perfectly and it looked beautiful, at least for the first ten minutes. Somehow, just about everyone of Nick's dogs had found their way to the ceremony and what happened after that was as chaotic as Nick's nickname.
Kayla's only memories of the day were being covered in cake and sand, then it rained. Not just a small summer shower, but a downpour. Although so many things had happened that day, it was a fun day. Nick and Chel were happy and that was all that had mattered. Kayla glanced again at the monitor, where Howies face was now on the screen. He was still happily dating Nancy, who was a very sweet girl. Kayla thought that she was just the right thing for Howie. Although there was no talk of wedding plans from the two of them yet, Kayla knew it wasnt that far off.
Kayla noticed that her cue was coming up and walked to her place right off stage. She was not ready for what happened next. The opening drumbeats of the next song never started and she was confused. She looked up to see AJ walking to where she stood, holding his hand out to her. She gave him a puzzled look as he led her to a wooden stool that had been set up on the stage. She looked around the dark stage but couldnt see the rest of the guys or any of the other dancers.
She gave AJ another confused glance and watched as he gave her the smile that he used when he was hiding a secret. She was about to say something over the screams of the crowd, but was stopped when the spotlight hit AJ. He began talking and curiously, she listened.
"Whats up? Are y'all enjoying the show?" Kayla watched as he paused as the screams became overwhelming. She still couldnt see too much because the only light was on AJ, so again, she sat back and listened. "I wanna take this time to thank all of you for your continuous support. The whole Backstreet family loves you guys. Speaking of the whole Backstreet family, I have a special guest up here with me tonight. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, you are about to help me celebrate a very special night."
The stage again went completely dark as Kayla sat, still confused. She felt terrible that she couldnt think of why tonight was so special. She listened as she heard the first couple of chords of the next song. Almost instantly, she realized what AJ was talking about. It had been two years from the day the first tour started. The memories of the whole tour overcame her; the first show, watching the video together on the bus, going home to Syracuse, the Dont Wanna Lose You Now video...Everything just started coming back to her. She brought her hand to the necklace that AJ had given her on her birthday, no matter what they had been through, she had never taken it off. She thought about the friendships she had made and the triumphs she had overcome. She had also found her soulmate. Tears welled up in her eyes and began falling down her face as her husband, Alexander James McLean, began singing their song. In an instant, he was beside her, holding her as he sang. In that moment in time, no matter how big the crowd was and how loud the screams were, only the two of them existed.
~I know its late, I know your weary, I know your plans dont include me, but still here we are, both of us lonely, longing for shelter, from all that we see, why should we worry, no one will care girl, look at the stars, so far away...We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow, we've got tonight baby, why dont you stay?~
AJ was staring at her now, and she could see the light shining off of his eyes. Those eyes mirrored her own, for she could see the tears glistening , ready to fall.
~Deep in my soul, Ive been so lonely, all of my hopes, fading away, Ive longed for love, like every one else does...~
AJ did not sing the next line the way the song was originally written. Kayla knew that it wouldnt have fit. She looked up at him as he continued.
~I dont need to keep searching, you've shown me the way, so there it is girl, Ive said it all now, and here we are babe, what do you say?~
Kayla stood up then and grabbed AJ's hand. The roar of the crowd registered once again in her mind and she looked out into the sea of faces. She felt the love and support that the fans held for the Boys and for herself. Almost every day she was asked for autographs by fans, and they approached her asking questions. She always took the time out to answer their questions, even alot of the ones about AJ, much to his dismay. Again, AJ's voice broke through her thoughts.
~I know its late i know your weary, oohhh, i know your plans dont include me, but still here we are, both of us lonely, both of us lonely, We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow, lets make it last, Lets find a way, turn out the lights, come take my hand now, we've got tonight baby, why dont you stay? Oh Oh, why dont you stay?~
Kayla felt AJ's arms surround her as she rested her head on his chest. She knew that they couldnt kiss on stage, it just wouldnt be right, but at that moment in time, in his arms, everything felt right. Daring to lift her face to look in his eyes, she still saw the tears glistening in them. She also saw his love, his pride, his strength, and most importantly, his soul. Although it seemed like time was standing still for the two of them, only a few minutes had passes since AJ had begun the song. The screams returned again to both of them and AJ broke away from the embrace as the stage once again went black. Staring once more into each others eyes, Kayla pulled him close again, whispering into his ear. "We've got tonight, forever and always. I love you, AJ." "I love you too, Kayla. Always and forever." Reaching out for AJ's hand, the pair walked backstage, husband and wife, soulmates. Not knowing where tomorrow would take them, neither of them bothered to care. The only thing they knew was what their song had always told them. And for the two of them, there was nothing more they needed then just "Tonight".
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